DC Universe: Rebirth #1 Full Spoilers Leak Online

Full spoilers for the DC Universe: Rebirth #1 by writer Geoff Johns and artists Ethan Van Sciver, Ivan Reis, Gary Frank and Phil Jimenez special one-shot issue have leaked on Reddit, prompting DC to lift the embargo on plot details early. This issue sets the tone and gives the story reason for DC's upcoming relaunch, and it is jam-packed with crazy revelations. For those who’d like to know what happens, read on, but if you’d rather not be spoiled, click away now.

Warning: seriously, full spoilers for DC Universe: Rebirth #1!

The issue kicks off with the return of Wally West, the original pre-New 52 version, in his Kid Flash costume, although he remembers everything from his entire life and being the Flash. He’s been lost in the Speed Force and isn’t back to our plane of existence quite yet. He’s in search of a tether, someone who he can connect with that will bring him back fully.

He’s also aware that a darkness has infected the DC, going back from before Flashpoint. He guesses that someone stole 10 years from their lives, fundamentally changing everyone (aka the New 52).

He bounces around the DC Universe, checking in with everyone from Batman to the Atom. Here’s a few things he learns along the way.

During the events of the Darkseid War, Batman learned that there is not one Joker, but three.

An old man in a nursing home is revealed to be Johnny Thunder, who we know as a member of the Justice Society of America. Turns out there was a JSA, but something happened to make the world forget.

A mysterious woman is being interviewed in a police station. She was brought in with a Legion of Superheroes ring.

The Atom aka Ray Palmer is trapped in the microverse, and he left a size-changing belt for Ryan Choi to come save him. Ryan Choi was once the Atom pre-New 52, and now their legacy has been established once again.

Speaking of legacy, we see Blue Beetle Ted Kord talk with new(er) Blue Beetle Jaime Reyes. After Jaime leaves, Doctor Fate appears to Ted. There has been a Doctor Fate in the New 52, but he’s on Earth 2, so this is the return of Doctor Fate proper.

Jessica Cruz is now a Green Lantern and we see Hal tell her about Sinestro.

Aqualad Jackson Hyde is back and now he’s gay.

An unknown person kills Pandora. She was a herald of the New 52, so this rather brutally shuts that chapter of the DCU.

Also from the Darkseid War, Wonder Woman finds out she has a lost twin brother.

And while we’re talking about Darkseid, he’s been reborn as Superwoman’s baby and is in Grail’s care.

There’s a smoking crater in the middle of a park. A majority of the Justice League stand nearby as around as police and civilians gather around. Superman is notably absent. He’s allegedly going to die in Superman #52, out next Wednesday, so this might be where he makes his final stand.

Green Arrow Oliver Queen and Black Canary Dinah Lance currently aren’t together like they were before the New 52. Both lay awake at night with the feeling that they’ve lost something (or someone).

The pre-New 52 Superman (who survived Convergence and is hiding out with Lois and their son Jonathan) is approached by a hooded man.

Aquaman proposes to Mera.

Wally lands in front of Linda Park, the love of his life before the New 52, but she is unable to tether him.

He jumps again, realizing that if he doesn’t find a tether soon, he will forever merge with the Speed Force and die forever. He sees the New 52 Wally West and realizes that they are distant cousins, both named after their grandfather Wallace West.

Finally, Wally meets Barry, who doesn’t remember him. Wally gives up, realizing that he has no more time left to find a tether, and just as he’s about to evaporate into the Speed Force, Barry remembers! And Barry grabs onto Wally, saving his life and finally tethering him to the physical world.

Wally fills Barry in on everything that happened before Flashpoint, and Barry tries to take the blame for causing the changes of the New 52, but it turns out that’s not what caused the changes. Wally says it was someone else. Someone who removed the friendships, legacies, and relationships between the heroes of the DCU in order to weaken them.

If you add up all the things Wally discovered on his journey, it turns out that the New 52 is the same universe as the pre-Flashpoint universe, only significantly altered, but now it's starting to look like its old self again.

Wally says there’s a war coming with this mysterious being, and back in the Batcave we watch as Batman starts to piece together some clues. Batman sees something shiny in a deep pit inside the Batcave, so he descends to chisel it out of the rock. He pulls out the yellow smiley-face button of the Comedian, complete with a splat of blood. Barry says, “I can feel it. Even now, Barry, we’re being watched.” The story ends.

The beginning of the issue started with a close-up on a watch, but never explained why. In the issue’s epilogue, our view goes from Earth, into space, and settles on Mars. It zooms in on that same watch as it is taken apart in the air, and as we see the clock face, it changes to yellow and black. There’s narration, pulled from the end of Watchmen, the final scene between Dr. Manhattan and Ozymandias, Adrian Veidt:

The issue ends with the iconic “clock to midnight” from Watchmen and the tagline “The Clock Is Ticking Across the DC Universe.”

The implication is that Dr. Manhattan is the one who caused the changes of the New 52 as some sort of attack or experiment on the DCU’s heroes, although his motives are still unknown. Before taking off at the end of Watchmen, he did say he might want to create some life of his own, and in Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan #4, we saw him take a crack at it, so it's possible that Dr. Manhattan created the DC Universe.

Is your mind blown yet?

Joshua is IGN’s Comics Editor. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.